The 1990 FIFA World Cup final was a football match played between West Germany and Argentina to determine the winner of the 1990 FIFA World Cup. The game took place on 8 July 1990 at the Stadio Olimpico in Italy's capital and largest city, Rome, and was won 1–0 by West Germany, with a late penalty kick taken by Andreas Brehme being the game's only goal. The match marked several firsts in World Cup history. This was the first rematch of a final and, to date, the only back-to-back rematch, as Argentina defeated West Germany in the previous final. Argentina became both the first team to fail to score in a World Cup final, and the first defending champion to reach the final and lose. West Germany's victory over Argentina marked the first time a UEFA side defeated a CONMEBOL side in a final (all previous finals between the two continents were won by South Americans). West Germany became the first team to play in three consecutive finals (they played in the 1982 and 1986 finals), a feat only repeated by Brazil in 1994, 1998, and 2002. It was West Germany's last World Cup match; the team played three more games before a unified German team was formed later in 1990, as a result of the reunification of the country after more than 40 years. Route to the final Match Notable spectators Italian president Francesco Cossiga, FIFA president João Havelange, FIFA secretary general Sepp Blatter, West German president Richard von Weizsäcker and chancellor Helmut Kohl, as well as the International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Juan Antonio Samaranch, IOC member Fahad Al-Sabah, and UEFA honorary president Jacques Georges, were among those attended the final. President Cossiga later handed the FIFA World Cup Trophy to West German captain Lothar Matthäus. Summary The 1990 final is often cited as one of the most cynical and ugliest World Cup finals. It was an ill-tempered game, notable for the first two sendings off in a World Cup final. Ian Morrison wrote "the game did little for football but there was one consolation: Had the Argentines lifted the World Cup – with two wins and five goals in their seven matches – it would have been a catastrophe for the game. At least their awful approach to Italia '90 had gone unrewarded." The West Germany team attacked relentlessly from the beginning of the match. In the